RAINFALL SPROUTS OPTIMISM.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

The 3 to 4 inches of rain that soaked Ventura County this week may have played havoc with motorists, but it was a godsend to farmers.

While a few strawberry growers reported losing some of their unpicked fruit because of the downpour, the rain was a boon to most of the county, where cattle ranchers were in the second year of a drought and firefighters were on heightened alert for brush fires.

``There was some limited amount of damage to some of the (strawberries) ready to be harvested,'' said Alan Laird,Ventura County deputy agriculture commissioner. ``Not to downplay some of the losses as far as to strawberries but it's been real beneficial to tree fruit growers.

``Avocado, lemon and orange growers, for the most part, welcomed the storm that came in here,'' he said. ``For the most part, we fared pretty well.''

Strawberries were the No. 1 cash crop in the county in 1999 - edging out lemons for the first time - bringing in $221 million to the county's $1.05 billion agriculture industry. Ventura County is second in the state for strawberry production, Laird said.

Although John Conroy lost some fruit from his 150 acres of strawberries in Oxnard, he said it was so insignificant being so early in the season he didn't even tabulate the loss.

``We are in good shape. This does nothing but wonders for plants,'' he said. ``Six weeks ago they were talking about a drought so we need the rain. And what better time than the winter.''

He said last year was a disaster when 2.5 inches of rain fell in April during the peak season.

``The benefit we will get from this rain later in the season will come back in aces for us,'' he said, noting the rain will replenish the deep-water wells used to irrigate the strawberries.

Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said that growers will be able to turn off their well, cutting down on energy use. In addition, the heavy rain will flush out the salt buildup in the soil that occurs from irrigation.

Although cattle ranchers could have used the rain last fall to grow feed for their nursing cows, it's still a welcome sight, said Rob Frost, president of the California Cattlemen's Association and a Santa Paula rancher.

``We're really happy with it,'' Frost said. ``We are going to have grass probably in March.''

Although the four-month calving season is pretty much over, ``we've got to have grass to carry them them through the year,'' he said.